French Lentil Salad with Goat Cheese and Spinach

30-minute recipe: A healthy French lentil salad with a tangy Dijon dressing. This delicious make-ahead recipe is perfect to serve warm or at room temperature.

I don’t know why lentils are so overlooked.

Maybe it’s because of their humble, earthy color and unfortunate relationship to stodgy vegetarian cooking from the last century.

If lentils have gone out of favor in your life for whatever reason, this tasty French green lentil salad will convince you to bring them back into regular rotation.

What are French lentils?

French lentils, sometimes called Le Puy or lentilles du puy, are a mainstay in my pantry right next to chickpeas.

These tiny legumes have a beautiful slate-green color and are sooo great to keep on hand for to add to spur-of-the-moment salads, soups and side dishes.

They have deep, nutty flavor and cook surprisingly quickly, in about 20 minutes.

And like most lentils, they’re loaded with nutritious iron, fiber and protein.

Compared to regular green or brown lentils, which can be starchier and cook to more of a mushy puree, French lentils become tender but keep their shape after cooking.

That makes them a perfect addition to healthy salads like this one.

Where to buy French lentils

Buy French lentils online or find them at many large supermarkets.

While some cooks swear by the distinct flavor of true French Le Puy lentils (which are actually grown in the volcanic soil of Puy in France), you can find the same variety of lentils grown right here in the U.S.A — just as delicious and not quite as spendy as imported ones.

How to cook French lentils

Score another beauty point for these lovely little lentils because unlike other legumes, they don’t need soaking.

Just cook French lentils in water and they’ll be done within 25 minutes.

For this recipe, the lentils cook with aromatic bay leaf and thyme sprigs for additional flavor.

Tossing the lentils with the lemony dressing while they’re warm ensures they’ll soak up every drop and taste fantastic!

More Quick Healthy Salad Recipes:

• Harvest Root Vegetable Salad with Chimichurri
• Toasted Orzo Salad with Asparagus, Lemon and Chickpeas
• Herbs de Provence Dijon Chicken Pasta Salad 

French Lentil Salad with Goat Cheese and Spinach

Familystyle Food

A quick and healthy vegetarian or vegan salad made with French lentils, goat cheese, fresh spinach and a tangy Dijon dressing.

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5 from 3 votes

Prep Time 10 mins

Cook Time 25 mins

Total Time 35 mins

Course Salad

Cuisine Vegetarian

Servings 6 servings

Ingredients

Dressing:

• 1 tablespoon finely chopped shallot
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Salad:

• 2 cups French green lentils, rinsed
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 large thyme sprigs
• Kosher salt
• 2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 stalks celery, finely chopped
• 1/2 red onion, finely chopped (1/4 cup)
• 1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley
• 2 – 3 cups baby spinach leaves
• 1/2 cup crumbled soft goat cheese or feta cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped toasted walnuts, optional

Instructions 

• Make the dressing: Combine the shallot, vinegar, lemon juice, Dijon, 1 1/4 teaspoons salt and black pepper to taste in a bowl. Let sit 5 minutes to dissolve the salt, then whisk in the olive oil until blended.
• Put the lentils, bay leaf and thyme sprigs in a 4-6 quart pot along with 2 teaspoons salt and 6 cups water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and cook 15 minutes.
• Add the carrots, celery and onion to the lentils and continue cooking 5 – 10 minutes, until the lentils are tender. They will have absorbed most, but not all of the liquid.
• Drain the lentils and transfer back to the pot or to a serving bowl. Pluck out the bay leaf and thyme sprigs and discard. Pour the dressing over and stir to coat. Add the parsley and spinach and stir through.
• Sprinkle the cheese and walnuts over the salad and serve warm or at room temperature.

Notes

• Serve the salad warm or at room temperature. It keeps beautifully refrigerated for a day or two – just bring to room temperature before serving for the best flavor.
• Omit the cheese to make this a vegan salad.

Recipe adapted from My Paris Kitchen:Recipes and Stories.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 446kcal | Carbohydrates: 53g | Protein: 26g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 9mg | Sodium: 140mg | Potassium: 1006mg | Fiber: 26g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 6210IU | Vitamin C: 18mg | Calcium: 115mg | Iron: 8mg

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